Haldia fire: Compensation of Rs 10L each for deceased

Kolkata: The immediate family members of the deceased labourers who were killed in the fire that broke out at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) refinery in Haldia on Tuesday will be given Rs 10 lakh compensation.

On Wednesday state Irrigation minister Soumen Mahapatra met IOC authorities and informed that the money will be given by IOC and the agency which recruited them.

Mahapatra on Wednesday alleged that the IOC authority should have been more cautious.

He claimed that it is IOC's negligence that no burn unit was present there. "Indian Oil Corporation authority informed us that they are taking necessary steps to set up a burn unit. We welcome their decision but the question is why there was no burn unit.

It has also been decided that the IOC authority will provide Rs five lakh and the agency which recruited the labourers will provide Rs five lakh to each of the family members of the deceased labourers immediately, said Mahapatra.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday other labourers of the IOC agitated in front of the

refinery claiming that the authority must take care of the expenses of the family of the deceased including the educational expenses of their children.

In a statement IOC authority stated: "The senior management of Indian Oil is continuously monitoring the situation. Indian Oil shall provide all necessary assistance, relief and adequate compensation to the affected workers. A high-level committee from Delhi is already on site for inquiring into the cause of the incident."

Among the injured labourers, three persons have been discharged.